"Building is cool"

Trades training sees mixed success

Students at Discovery Community College in Campbell River, B.C., learn "Forming and Framing", a 22-week competency-based program where trainees complete construction of a frame structure to "lockup", gaining plenty of hands-on experience with full-sized roof framing.

When British Columbia's Industry Training Authority set targets for enrollment in trades training in March 2004, the agency expected 30,000 students would be in apprentice programs within three years.
Instead, ten months into the program, enrollment had nearly surpassed the three-year target. "There is a rush of young people into the trades, and half of them are going into the construction sector," an ITA spokesperson said. The B.C. success is not being mirrored in all parts of Canada, though there are flashpoints of growth.
As of January 31, there were 18,985 B.C. apprentices registered, up nearly 30 per cent from March 31, 2004. There were also 9,720 employer/sponsors training apprentices, up eight per cent over the same time period, putting the takeup nearly equal to the three-year target.
Youth participation is also exceeding targets, due primarily to the launch of the "ACE IT" program that brings trade training into high schools. While 400 students were expected to enroll in the first intake in January, actual registration is more than 1,100, with an additional 700 to 900 students forecast to participate in the second intake later this year.
In addition to registered apprentices, the ITA estimates that there are more than 10,000 British Columbians currently enrolled in Entry Level Trades Training (ELTT) programs at B.C. post-secondary institutions. That represents an increase of 17 per cent in 10 months for industry training over all.
This February, the CHBA-BC reported the first graduates of the new Residential Construction Framing Technician certification program and noted that 71 of 76 trainees are doing on-the-job training.
"Building stuff is cool," said Peter Fromanger, a 19-year-high school graduate who is now enrolled in a 22-week forming and framing course in Abbotsford. "I already have a job lined up." That's not a problem in B.C.'s overheated housing market, where the starting pay for framers is $17 an hour… and many make twice that.
Most first-year university students won't be making that kind of money for years and the message is getting out.

Ottawa antes up
In 2004, the federal government spent $12 million to market the trades to students, teachers and, most importantly, parents. The message, often driven home by local members of the CHBA, is that the employment rate for skilled trades is better than university graduates and there are opportunities for rapid advancement if you have the right stuff.
Across Canada, the take-up in construction trades training is mixed. Newfoundland and Labrador home builders rely on the "on the job" training that has characterized the industry for years. The bulk of the industrial training offered in the province is geared toward the resource industry and is focused on union participation, not on residential construction. However, Atlantic Canada has an aggressive construction training system in place and Mary Kenny of the Atlantic Home Builders' Training Board confirms that, while more training is being offered, most is aimed at upgrading the skills of existing builders and renovators. Last year the NSHBA offered the first-ever residential construction industry career fair for high school students, which attracted more than 500 students.
Ontario is experiencing difficulty in attracting young people into the residential trades, notes Albert Schepers of the OHBA education and training committee. OHBA member companies have been working with the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program in helping set up on-line courses in masonry and carpentry.
The Manitoba HBA is now graduating some 20 students - all fed through the Employment and Income Assistance program - in its sixth Residential Construction Training Institute, but local builders are also looking to government funding to offer specific sub-contractor training, such as framing and cribbing.
In Alberta, where the Carma Centre for Excellence is often cited as a national model, attendance at training workshops is down, according to Helen Webster of the Professional Home Builders' Institute of Alberta and Alberta HBA. However, a new Skills Project for both high school and post-secondary students is nearing completion. The first phase involves a pilot program with 26 high schools in the Calgary area starting this April, with the first courses offered this September.
While citing the hard work of various groups across Canada, Russell Walsh, Regina-based char of the CHBA's National Educating and Training Committee, believes that a truly national strategy is needed. "The CHBA should support the concept of a coordinated national curriculum and designation for new home builders and renovators based on provincial programs, with a time frame of one year," Walsh told the national CHBA conference in St. John's.
When one looks at the patchwork of training programs - and divergent levels of success - Walsh's plan may win widespread suppor. HB